PHILADELPHIA  Jim O'Brien put his first major stamp on the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday by shaking up the lineup, sending Glenn Robinson to the bench and naming veterans Aaron McKie and Marc Jackson starters.

Shooting guard Willie Green and center Samuel Dalembert, both expected to pick up where they left off last year as starters, also were demoted and rookie first-round pick Andre Iguodala replaced Robinson at small forward.

That means Allen Iverson and McKie in the backcourt, and Iguodala, Jackson and power forward Kenny Thomas in the frontcourt, will be the starting five when the Sixers open the season Nov. 3 at Boston.

All five started Tuesday night's game against Utah.

Robinson did not play and left the locker room before the game to tend to unrelated family matters. Robinson, entering his 11th season, has started 668 of 679 career games and has a 20.8 career scoring average.

"Glenn took it about as good as any NBA player has ever taken news that he was not going to be in the starting lineup," O'Brien said before the game. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for the professional way he handled the situation."

Still, Robinson griped about playing time last season when injuries shortened his first season in Philadelphia to a career-low 42 games. Robinson rededicated himself in offseason workout programs and proclaimed in training camp that he was in the best shape in years.

It still wasn't enough. O'Brien hopes The Big Dog instead can be a positive influence off the bench.

"When a player says in a situation where he has never experienced something like this before, and he says to you, 'I understand where you're coming from; whatever it takes,' I think you have to take him at face value," O'Brien said.

Dalembert was one of two Sixers to play in all 82 games last season and was ninth in the league with 2.3 blocks a game. While he was shooting 74% in the preseason, he struggled at times adapting to O'Brien's defensive scheme.

"It does matter for me. I'm not going to lie. I do want to start," Dalembert said last week when asked about the possibility of losing his starting job.

Green played in 53 games last season, but was shooting only 40% from the floor in the preseason, including 0-for-6 and 5-for-14 efforts against Toronto.

"There's nothing that he has done that would not tell me he's the player I talked about this summer," O'Brien said. "He needs to get the starting job. He needs to battle Aaron and Aaron has to not relinquish easily."

O'Brien just valued the maturity and experience of Jackson and McKie, both former Temple standouts. McKie has spent the last 6{ seasons with the Sixers and was the league's Sixth Man award winner in the 2000-01 season. He started all 82 games in the 1999-2000 season, but no more than 41 in a season since.

The moves create instant opportunity for the 6-foot-6 Iguodala, who left Arizona after his sophomore season, is an excellent passer but inconsistent shooter, and often is compared to Scottie Pippen.

Iguodala made an early impact defensively during training camp, grabbing rebounds and leading the charge on the fast break, making a believer out of O'Brien.

"We have to have a wing player that can up against the (Andrei) Kirilenkos, the Richard Jeffersons, the Paul Pierces of the NBA," O'Brien said. "I think the guy that is going to be able to do that best is Andre."

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